Since the last time these two sides faced off Chelsea has been on an absolute tear, and that continued on Saturday. While controversy surrounded the first goal, Marcos Alonso put the Blues ahead inside of 13 minutes. Second-half tallies from Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas ensured the points would go the way of Conte’s side, while Olivier Giroud netted in stoppage time to give the Gunners a moment of solace. Arsenal now sit 12 points behind leaders Chelsea, with their title hopes all but over.

It’s February and Liverpool have yet to win in the new calendar year. Jurgen Klopp‘s side remains fourth in the PL but the Reds have certainly fallen from grace as of late, and losses to Hull and Swansea over recent weeks have put a major damper on the club’s title hopes. The Tigers move to 18th in the PL with Saturday’s win, putting the team just one point away from moving itself out of the bottom three. Alfred N'Diaye and Oumar Niasse both found the scoresheet for Hull to give the club its fifth win of the season.

You saw that right. Nine goals between them at Goodison Park! While Bournemouth fought admirably to keep the game within sight for much of the day, Romelu Lukaku‘s stardom continues to grow in the PL after his four-goal performance on Saturday. The Belgian striker helped pace the Toffees for their 11th win of the season, while James McCarthy and Ross Barkley also found their way onto the scoresheet.

Meanwhile, Josh King netted a brace for Bournemouth, while Harry Arter grabbed another for the away side, who fall to 14th following the defeat. The Cherries are now winless in their last five PL fixtures.

Palace has fallen and they can’t get up. In a battle of two of the league’s most struggling sides, it was Sunderland that came away with an absolute smashing at Selhurst Park. Jermain Defoe increased his goal total on the season to 10 after scoring a brace, while Lamine Kone and Didier Ndong also netted for the Black Cats. Both sides remain in the relegation zone on 19 points, however, Sunderland has taken points in consecutive matches while Palace has won just once in its last 10 PL matches.

Mauricio Pochettino‘s men faced a stiff challenge against the Boro but Spurs made sure they didn’t slip up to keep their falling title hopes in line. Harry Kane converted from the penalty spot just before the hour mark to keep Tottenham within nine points of Chelsea on Saturday, although the club faces a tough test next week against Liverpool.

The Hammers are back in the top half after a three-goal performance from the visitors at St. Mary’s. Manolo Gabbiadini scored in his Southampton debut, only to be out out shined by the away side. Andy Carroll, Mark Noble and Pedro Obiang all netted for West Ham, who has now won three of its last four PL fixtures.

James Morrison scored after six minutes, and that was all the hosts needed to pick up a valuable three points for the eighth-place side. As it stands, West Brom is now just six points out of the top six ahead of Manchester United’s clash on Sunday against Leicester City. Meanwhile, Stoke sits seven points behind the Baggies in 11th place.

Jeff Hendrick‘s early red card put the visitors at a major disadvantage and Watford capitalized to the fullest at Vicarage Road. Jose Holebas was on the receiving end of Hendrick’s nasty challenge less than 10 minutes into the match, allowing the Hornets to go on the offensive. Goals from M’Baye Niang and Troy Deeney helped push Watford into 10th place, leaping over the Clarets.

Share this:

A person who directed racist taunts at Portland Thorns’ goalkeeper Adrianna Franch has been banned from attending National Women’s Soccer League games.

A fan at the Sept. 6 game between the Thorns and Utah Royals in Salt Lake City first called attention to the unidentified person on Twitter. The tweet was later deleted, but both the Thorns and Royals, as well as the league, investigated the incident.

The NWSL issued a statement Saturday saying the person was identified. In addition to being banned from NWSL matches, the person – who was not identified publicly by the league – was also banned from attending events at Rio Tinto Stadium.

“NWSL will not tolerate inappropriate fan behavior,” the league’s statement said. “Racism has no place in our sport.”

The Royals also offered “thanks in no small part to assistance from fans seated in the vicinity,” for identifying the offending party.

A few days after the incident, Franch posted a statement to Twitter: “The situation surrounding our game Friday night is not a NEW issue, nor is it a first for me. RACISM is NOT okay in any form!! We as a HUMAN RACE can be better and should be better. We as a SPORT can help show the way.”

Franch was on the roster of the U.S. national team that won the Women’s World Cup this summer in France.

Dominating possession and taking a healthy amount of shots, it seemed like the San Jose Earthquakes were going to pull off a Matias Almeyda-era victory in New York City on Saturday.

But in just the span of three minutes, NYCFC changed the landscape of the game completely, scoring twice right before halftime. Keaton Parks recorded his first league goal in the 40th minute. In the 43rd, the Eastern Conference leaders put together this (yes, the covered half the field just like that):

Like in the sequences that led to the home side’s goals, the Quakes’ confidence to overtake the scoreline took a hit, failing to finish a number of chances following attack-heavy substitutions in the second half. As a result, San Jose, who are fighting for a playoff spot, dropped their fourth straight game on the road.

Speaking with media after their 2-1 loss, Almeyda – despite praising NYCFC as being one of the league’s best – took shots at Yankee Stadium’s field size. Should the league care? Absolutely. NYCFC? Not at all, just look at their record.

The league’s youngest team ended up with 10-men late in the game. Kendall Watson was shown a straight red card, but Ron Jans earned his first three points at the helm. Early in the game, Allan Cruz’s goal foreshadowed what was to come for the Ohioan side following the final whistle: a celebration.

The Impact (37 points) remain three points behind New England, while Cincinnati (21 points) look to finish strong in order to avoid the ugly side of the history books.

Carlos Vela rejoins LAFC, scores

There’s no way around it: LAFC is a completely different team with (or without) Carlos Vela, who can’t stop scoring.

The Mexican recorded his 28th goal of the season (six behind Jose Martinez’s single-season record) in the Supporter Shield favorite’s 1-1 draw in Philadelphia. It wasn’t a Vela-esque sequence at all, but it was enough to change the score.

All square at the half thanks to @11carlosV's 28th goal of the season!

The Union, who played without Marco Fabian because of his absence in the team’s meeting on Friday, opened the scoring. Three minutes in, Kacper Przybyłko’s floating header surprised Tyler Miller, giving the home side a perfect start in front of a noisy Talen Energy Stadium.

Just a couple of months ago, these were the two best teams in the league. LAFC remain atop of the Western Conference. The Union, however, are now five points behind NYCFC.

Crew trounce Atlanta United 3-1 despite Josef Martinez’ goal

Caleb Porter’s Columbus Crew, arguably, play the most effective soccer out of all the teams that are on the outside looking in when it comes to qualifying for the playoffs this season.

On Saturday, despite being statistically outdone by Atlanta United, the Crew managed to execute their chances, scoring three goals on only four shots on target. Gyasi Zardes, a pivotal piece of their attack, scored his 12th goal of the season. Costa Rican Luis Diaz added one of his own in the second half, before Miles Robinson’s own-goal 25 minutes later sealed three points for Columbus.

After three games, Antonio Conte‘s spell at Inter Milan remains in immaculate shape.

According to the table, there is no better team than I Nerazzurri, who have won their first three league matches – notching seven goals and conceding only one along the way. In other words, the Italian’s astute coaching style remains effective.

Despite, Inter’s convincing play throughout the 90 minutes, only a goal would separate them from visiting Udinese, who played a with 10 players from the 35th minute on, following Rodrigo De Pual’s slap to the back of Antonio Candreva’s head.

In the 44th minute, Stefano Sensi – one of the smallest players on the field – headed the ball into the back of the net. Late in the game, Alexis Sanchez nearly scored in his Inter debut.

In the end, Udinese were no match for Antonio Conte and Co., who find themselves in prime form heading into their Champions League return midweek.

Up next for Inter in league play: Derby della Madonnina. Udinese, on the hand, host Brescia.

Napoli 2-0 Sampdoria

Dries Mertens is the gift that keeps on giving for Napoli.

To be exact, the Belgian gifted his team two goals on Saturday. 13 minutes in, following a perfectly-placed cross from Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Mertens’ first-time strike was unstoppable for Emil Audero.

Emiliano Rigoni had Sampdoria’s best chance of the night in a one-on-one opportunity with Alex Meret. The Argentine, however, wasted one of the visiting side’s two chances all night.

Then in the 67th minute – with some luck on his corner -Mertens completed his brace off a deflected shot, giving his team their second win of the season.

Quick turnaround for Napoli as they host Liverpool midweek before traveling to take on Lecce in league play, while Sampdoria take on Torino next.